Eager to start Huel I also bought some from Amazon so I could do it over the Easter weekend. It literally arrived five minutes ago, so I opened it, and see right at the bottom of the sticker ‘made in a factory that uses nuts, peanuts and eggs’.
Having a life threatening peanut allergy, I and others have to stay away from anything that is produced in the same factory - if this had been made clear before hand I wouldn’t have probably bought the product. Luckily I am living with my parents who know how to use my Epi-pen just incase.
Disappointed this wasn’t made clear earlier as I love the product
Wow, this is hardly a detail. Looking at the nutrition pages and the product pages just now I cannot see any warning there. It is quite clear that there is coconut in the product (which I believe is not actually a nut), but aside from that no mention of nuts what so ever (25/03/2016). The only allergen listed is gluten, which is there as an actual ingredient not a trace chemical.
SO the big question is; does this product actually contain traces of nuts?
I hope not
I got some on my hoodie cuff while preparing it, and then a rash erupted on my wrist
I don’t seem to react to the powder, but it’s early days yet
Huel is suitable for vegans and free from most potential allergens. However, the oats used in Huel may also contain traces of wheat, rye and barley and are therefore not registered as gluten-free.
We certainly will respond, I’m just waiting for confirmation on a couple of points. As it’s a bank holiday weekend it’s a little tricky getting info from the right people.
We can’t call Huel gluten free because we don’t test every batch of oats, and the amount of gluten can vary from field to field. An official gluten free version of Huel is due soon, which uses gluten free oats.
In terms of the warning on the current label - “This product is produced in an environment that produces milk, egg, wheat, peanuts and nuts.” This was added when we first launched and it was us being over cautious and using a standard warning message.
Pre-end of Feb (I’m just waiting for batch numbers): Huel was made in a facility that handled milk, egg and a peanut flavour (we are still checking if there are actually any peanuts in the peanut flavouring). They did not handle wheat or nuts. Huel blended in it’s own blender so the chance of cross contamination was very slim. Just to be clear there is no milk, eggs, or peanuts added to the Huel.
March 2016 - Huel is now in it’s own dedicated facility, which does not currently handle any milk, egg, wheat, peanuts and nuts. So the warning has been removed from the new pouches.
I have a serious tree nut allergy, not immediate anaphylaxisbut enough warrant a couple of hospital visits in my life.
Tried some chocolate huel today, the package says contains tree nuts (COCONUT) - between that and this thread and one on discourse.huel.com (which is separate for some reason…) I figured it’d be safe so I tried a sip of my coworkers today.
I definitely had a reaction, not enough to warrant medical care but I spent my lunch hour with my epi-pen just in case.
@sirclesam must be from the US (reference to chocolate Huel)
It’s a different factory - not sure if it’s a dedicated Huel factory like the one in the UK.
You might be better off discussing in the US forum (that you’ve linked to) as there are slight differences in the UK and US ingredients and / or labelling due to different regional legislations
I’m sorry to hear this Sam and for the confusion caused.
Huel does not contain any nuts. Coconut is technically not a nut, however some people (such as yourself) who are allergic to tree nuts (like almonds, cashews, and walnuts) are also allergic to coconut. But others are not, it isn’t black and white and everyone is different. The medium chain triglycerides (MCT) in Huel is derived from coconut but is not ground coconut in its whole form.
UK/global Huel powder also contains coconut flour as a carrier for the vitamin mineral blend. The US formula does not: only the MCTs which are derived from coconut.
